Style Idea 5

Instead of wearing red and green for Christmas, I go for the more subtle silvers or golds. For the fourth of July, I prefer baby blues instead of navy combined with red. This Valentine Day outfit follows the same rule: it makes use of the holiday's trademark hue (in this case, red) in different tones than the usually prescribed one. Instead of fire-engine red and bright pink, go for magenta, burgundy, and blush. The colors have the Valentine feel without looking like they were pulled out of a Hallmark card!

*Wine-colored Tights: $15.00 Banana Republic

V-neck Sweater: $25.49 Blue Fly

Black Rosette Necklace: $50.00 Etsy 

Monet Skirt: $46.00 LuLu's

*Wine-colored Booties: $79.99 Piperlime

*Matching shoes and tights idea thanks to Jessica Schroeder!

Proverbs 31 Challenge: Looking for Quality

She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar.

Proverbs 31:14

At first reading, this verse might be thought to mean that a Proverbs 31 woman cannot drive down to the nearest store but must trek a minimum amount of miles to get her groceries. History and cultural context is obviously key to interpreting this verse.

The Bible makes it pretty clear that ancient Israel was an agricultural society. How many times are wheat, harvest, fields, and herds mentioned? The Israelites were largely self-dependent in the sense that they provided their own food without relying on trade with other nations. The people farmed for their own needs and provided for their own families.

This doesn't mean, though, that Israel didn't do any trading at all. Merchant ships exported grains, olive products, and wine. What they brought back was exotic and luxurious; usually reserved for the upper class.

The exemplary woman's grocery buying habits did not have to do with the distance she traveled, but with the quality she provided for her family. She wanted to give them the best she possibly could and that meant traveling long distances to buy foreign goods. It's important to keep in mind that she didn't do this irresponsibly, wasting all her grocery money on an ounce of fancy cheese. She did the best she could within her means.

What does this verse teach us, a generation in which the world is increasingly smaller? Should we travel to Japan to buy fresh fish or hop on a plane to Italy to fetch a bottle of olive oil? Although I would personally love to, it would be impossible to shop this way! What this verse really teaches is to provide the best you can for the people you serve, whether that is your husband and children, your brothers and sisters, or a home group you're hosting. Try to always provide the best you can instead of taking the cheap way out and be willing to make reasonable sacrifices in order to do so. Its well worth it.

Check it Out!

These photos of beautiful curved stairs and houses cut into stone have forever convinced me that architecture is art. Kudos to photographers, too, who capture these breathtaking images in such unique ways.

Looking for a sweet simple Valentine's gift? This heart-shaped box of flowers is a cute DIY project you can give to co-workers and friends. It looks super easy to pull together.

Jon Acuff of Stuff Christians Like always makes me laugh. This week, he posted the things he wishes he'd been told when he got married. They're here and they're hilarious!

Kevin DeYoung writes about the mistakes we make when we consider the Holy Spirit.

Boundless featured an article on the female struggle with pornography titled Its Not Just A Guy Problem.

Tim Challies writes beautifully about every Christian's calling in Called by Name.

Although its far from our minds now, Haiti is far from recovery. These photos capture the country three weeks after disaster struck.

Photo of the Week

Why is it that during summer we long for winter and during winter we can't wait for summer? In December I complained that Las Vegas takes too long to cool down, this week I've been wanting warmer weather. My nostalgia for summer took me to the day this photo was taken. My husband and I drove our youth group kids down to Amargosa Valley even though we were scared they'd just end up bored. I'm glad we took the risk because they loved it! At one point during the trip, we stopped at one of the reservoirs in the area, kicked off out shoes and ran toward the water only to find the ground was actually just a sticky pile of mud that caved under the weight of your feet. This poor kid was one of the ones that got stuck in it and had a good time trying to get out,

The Greatest Man

Although my husband and I officially moved into our house about six months ago, everything is still mostly a mess. Our office in particular looks like it just held a vicious match between two WWF wrestlers, which isn't too far from the truth since my husband and brother wrestle in there every weekend.

I was in said office trying to write a paper in under an hour when I got side tracked (of course) looking at the knick knacks we have sprawled out all over the desk. Among those things I found a program a few years old saved from a young youth pastor's funeral. He was a 22-year-old newlywed when he died; his church and his youth group had a hard time coping with the loss. As I looked at the smiling photo on the cover, something struck me as strange: right under the young man's joyful portrait was written, "The Greatest Man to Ever Live."

I think we have the tendency to focus on a person's good qualities after they die, and there's nothing wrong with that. Its not wrong to remember the good times spent and honor the person's life and great things they did, specially if it was a life lived for the glory of God.

Reading John 1:51 today made me think of something, though: why does Jesus call himself the Son of Man? "Son of God" is complex, but still relatively easy to understand. What's with the "Son of Man" title?

The gist of it is that he is the greatest man to ever live. There has never been and never will be a greater man than Christ. He is the only one who could live a life perfect before the eyes of God, the only one who never sinned and never failed, the only one who could provide salvation from sin and its eternal punishment. He is God in the flesh, manifested in a human body without giving up his godhood. Who could ever be greater than him?

We have to be careful to always keep our focus on Christ. No matter how wonderful a person is or was, they are no comparison to Jesus. I love my husband with all my heart and think I'm the luckiest girl for being his wife, but I know he can't compete with Jesus in the greatness department. I have to remember that about myself too. I'm in no way even close to being as great as my Savior, no matter what good things I do. Only he can claim to be the best person to ever lay foot on this planet.

Style Idea 4

Since this week is my birthday week, I thought it would be ok to be completely self-indulgent and make an outfit entirely of things I wish I could buy myself as a birthday gifts! I've been in love with this green Mod Cloth dress forever now, have been looking for a vintage clasp belt for ages, need basic black pumps, and would love a crazy print coat now that I have my basics down. Oh, and the peacock necklace is just beautiful! In a perfect universe, I would be able to afford all this and have it shipped on time to wear to the birthday dinner my husband is secretly planning.

Green Grecian Dress: $89.99 Mod Cloth

Vintage Peacock Necklace: $25.00 Etsy

Retro Clasp Belt: $17.99 Mod Cloth

Black Pumps: $77.00 Zappos

Leopard Print Coat: $69.00 Newport News

Proverbs 31 Challenge: The Hard Way Out

She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands.

Proverbs 31:13

Us 21st century girls are used to one item of clothing being made out of polyester, nylon, and even a small percentage of spandex. Our clothes come ready to wear from the store and we never see them being made. Even if you're the admirable kind of lady that sews her own clothing, chances are you buy the fabric instead of making it yourself.

The woman described in Proverbs 31 had the choice of buying her clothing or making it. She chose to make it literally from scratch. Flax, like wool, is a fiber that takes hours to spin into thread which you can weave and then sew into garments. This lady chose to spend endless hours collecting the raw material she needed and going through the tedious process of making her family their clothes from it. Instead of taking the easy way by buying her clothes from the merchants, she happily took on the work necessary to provide her family with the best possible clothing.

This is what the woman of Proverbs 31 did, but what does it mean for us? Certainly, we're not expected to spin thread and weave in order to be godly women! The point of telling about how this woman provided clothes for her family is to show that she was willing to do hard work for them. The clothing she could make her family was much better than anything she could buy them, so she willingly did it. She wasn't the type of person that takes the easy road, no matter the cost. If the more difficult way was better for her and her family, that was the road she chose.

Short cuts can be helpful and practical. Many times, taking a short cut is a great idea. There are times, though, when shortcuts negatively affect the results of your work and the service you offer others. What is an area where you are taking harmful shortcuts? Could taking the hard way out be better?